The PAMF office in Fremont is a better. The San Jose office has lost an appt for me before, ordered the wrong lab test, and the front desk ladies are not as friendly.

+ Read more

Age

24 - 25

Treated

2014 - 2015

Success with this Doc

No

Race

European

Income

$100K - $199K

Occupation

—

Order & Number of Docs Seen

2nd of 2 Docs

Treatment

2 IUI, IVF

Diagnosis

Endometriosis

8

During treatment, did you feel like you were treated like a number or a human?

For the most part, they get to know you as an individual; you can't expect to not feel like a number sometimes, as they see so many patients. I really felt like the MA's and IUI/IVF coordinators do a great job communicating with you and making you feel comfortable.

What specific things went wrong at this clinic?

Lost appointments

Failed to order appropriate test

How was your experience with Anthony Dobson?

Dr. Dobson has overall been a good doctor; I'm glad we have stuck with him; he is the head of the PAMF-FPNC department, so he has a lot of knowledge and experience. In my very first visit with him, he spent 2 hours looking through all of mine and my husband's health history, and gave us insight/ideas for moving forward, and let me know if I disagreed with any suggestions along the way that I could let him know and we would compromise. So far, although we have not gotten pregnant yet, they have done everything well as far as treating us and starting with least invasive first (my request). The only reservations I have are that; 1) PAMF is one of the more expensive facilities, 2) It can be hard to get a hold of them by phone/make appts when you want due to them being busy and closing at 3:30pm, 3) They are not too keen on natural treatment such as vitamins/supplements (unless labs show they are needed), 4) They tend to ask me a lot of the same questions each time I am seen. With all of that being said, they do their best to make you comfortable and you won't get tossed around to different providers each visit.

What one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Anthony Dobson?

If you are wanting to go a more natural route with fertility treatment, I would suggest seeing a different provider, as he is a provider that tends to treat patients that need more aggressive treatment.

8

Doctor

Anthony Dobson

Communication

Trustworthiness

Compassion

Explained risks

Adaptability

Frequency seen during appointments

8

Clinic

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

San Jose

Nursing

Operations

Scheduling

Billing

Educational Resources

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0

Age

—

Treated

—

Success with this Doc

No

Treatment

IVF, Donor Eggs, Donor Sperm

Diagnosis

—

0

The nursing staff [at PAMF] made mistakes on several instances and asked me about my "husband." I am single and intend to single parent....Also, they require a psychological evaluation, but you must use one of their 4 psychologists who charge $250 instead of a psychologist you already have a relationship with or one that is covered by your insurance...15,000 donor eggs, 1,000 donor sperm, 10,000 for attempted embryo transfer...You think you are choosing your doctor, but they will pull the old "switcheroo" on you at the last minute.

+ Read more

Age

—

Treated

—

Success with this Doc

No

Race

European

Income

$50K - $99K

Occupation

Nurse or HC Services

Order & Number of Docs Seen

1 Doc Seen

Treatment

IVF, Donor Eggs, Donor Sperm

Diagnosis

—

0

Describe your experience with Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

You think you are choosing your doctor, but they will pull the old "switcheroo" on you at the last minute. Also, they require a psychological evaluation, but you must use one of their 4 psychologists who charge $250 instead of a psychologist you already have a relationship with or one that is covered by your insurance.

During treatment, did you feel like you were treated like a number or a human?

He walked into the room, never having met me, on the most important day of my life, embryo transfer day, and did not even say, "Hi" or introduce himself. He immediately turned his back to me and looked at my chart for a long time before turning around and saying anything to me at all.

Describe your experience with the nursing staff.

The nursing staff made mistakes on several instances and asked me about my "husband." I am single and intend to single parent.

What specific things went wrong at this clinic?

Failed to convey critical information

How was your experience with Anthony Dobson?

During the embryo transfer, with me strapped into stir-ups and nervous, he asked me if he could fill up my bladder. I was thinking that I had just had 3 full glasses of water, couldn't he just wait? I hesitantly asked if it was necessary. He answered that if I wanted a successful result I would have to. He roughly shoved a size 20 catheter into me and I screamed. He proceeded to fill up my bladder, yanked it out and I screamed again. He made no apologies, and proceeded with the transfer. To make a long story short, he denied responsibility later for my urethral damage. I continue to have constant pain, and have to pee every 10 minutes or less, every couple of hours all night long. I am still out of work due to constant pain and urination and am awaiting my pregnancy test.

What one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Anthony Dobson?

Unless you are into medical rape, avoid this doctor at all costs.

Describe the protocols Anthony Dobson used in your cycles and their degree of success.

I had never met him on the day of embryo transfer. He had one simple but very important job to do and he messed it up.

[PAMF - San Jose] Strengths: small and personalable. Weakness: not on the leading edge of fertility, not a well oiled fertility machine...No complaints [about the nurses], it really boils down to the lab and the doctor...Please look up her statistics on sart.org before moving forward. Yes, she is a very nice doctor, but given that you were are spending tens of thousands of dollars, I would rather have someone with much better statistics...

+ Read more

Age

32

Treated

2013

Success with this Doc

No

Race

European

Income

$200K - $499K

Occupation

Operations

Order & Number of Docs Seen

1st of 2 Docs

Treatment

4 IUI, 2 IVF

Diagnosis

Male Factor, PCOS, Unexplained

0

Describe your experience with Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

Strengths: small and personalable.
Weakness: not on the leading edge of fertility, not a well oiled fertility machine

During treatment, did you feel like you were treated like a number or a human?

She was very caring and had a great bedside manner

Describe your experience with your nurse.

No complaints, it really boils down to the lab and the doctor.

What specific things went wrong at this clinic?

Failed to order appropriate test

Failed to convey critical information

How was your experience with Salli Tazuke?

Dr. Tazuki was very nice and caring, but I do not think she is on the leading edge of fertility treatments. After my third IUI she realized she had not tested my husband's morphology which was less than 1%. Had we known this we would've gone straight to IVF. Next, she explained the differences between natural IVF and ICSI but did not steer us down the right path given my husband's morphology. I wish she would've been more authoritative in suggesting we do ICSI since she is the expert. Finally, there was no mention of any sort of genetic /chromosome testing which we would've absolutely done the first time around had we know it was an option.

What one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Salli Tazuke?

Please look up her statistics on sart.org before moving forward. Yes, she is a very nice doctor, but given that you were are spending tens of thousands of dollars, I would rather have someone with much better statistics.

0

Doctor

Salli Tazuke

Communication

Trustworthiness

Compassion

Explained risks

Adaptability

Frequency seen during appointments

0

Clinic

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

San Jose

Nursing

Operations

Scheduling

Billing

Clinic Atmosphere

Educational Resources

– Read less

10

Age

25

Treated

2012

Success with this Doc

Yes

Treatment

Fertility Medications

Diagnosis

Anovulation, Male Factor, PCOS

10

My husband and I move[d] 2 hours away [from Palo Alto Medical Foundation Fertility] and still chose to see her [Dr. Abusief] while struggling with infertility....I would recommend her over any other doctor in the area.... Dr. Abusief is very thorough away makes sure to lay out all of your options as well as advise of any supplements or medication that you may need. I appreciate that she isn't judgmental and never makes you feel uncomfortable.

+ Read more

Age

25

Treated

2012

Success with this Doc

Yes

Race

Black or African-American

Income

$50K - $99K

Occupation

—

Order & Number of Docs Seen

1 Doc Seen

Treatment

Fertility Medications

Diagnosis

Anovulation, Male Factor, PCOS

10

During treatment, did you feel like you were treated like a number or a human?

Dr. Abusief has always been very compassionate and even after not seeing me for 3 years knew exactly who we were and what we needed to do. She cares about the patients and making them parents and that's what's important.

How was your experience with Mary Abusief?

Dr. Abusief has been a part of our fertility journey for about 5 years. From the first moment I met her, she was warm, caring, understanding, and reassuring. My husband and I move 2 hours away and still chose to see her while struggling with infertility. Dr. Abusief is very thorough away makes sure to lay out all of your options as well as advise of any supplements or medication that you may need. I appreciate that she isn't judgmental and never makes you feel uncomfortable. I'm obese, but I'm healthy and have gained weight because of hormone imbalances and she has always made me feel very comfortable and laid out all of my options from the beginning. I would recommend her over any other doctor in the area.

What one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mary Abusief?

Know that she will always have a plan and your best interest at heart.

10

Doctor

Mary Abusief

Communication

Trustworthiness

Compassion

Explained risks

Adaptability

Frequency seen during appointments

10

Clinic

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

San Jose

Nursing

Operations

Scheduling

Billing

Clinic Atmosphere

Educational Resources

– Read less

10

Age

34 - 35

Treated

2012 - 2013

Success with this Doc

Yes

Treatment

1 IUI, 2 IVF

Diagnosis

Unexplained

10

Very well run clinic. Honest practice...Shawnda was awesome. Organized, sensitive, encouraging. Even humorous at times when we invited her humor. Very respectful and hopeful for us...She [Dr Mary Abusief] is incredibly warm, empathetic, sensitive, and listened to our concerns. She answered our questions with patience and care....Excellent physician and excellent bedside manner...You found the right person. Be grateful to be getting excellent care.

+ Read more

Age

34 - 35

Treated

2012 - 2013

Success with this Doc

Yes

Race

Prefer not to answer

Income

$100K - $199K

Occupation

Sales Representative

Order & Number of Docs Seen

1st of 2 Docs

Treatment

1 IUI, 2 IVF

Diagnosis

Unexplained

10

Describe your experience with Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

Very well run clinic. Honest practice.

During treatment, did you feel like you were treated like a number or a human?

She is incredibly warm, empathetic, sensitive, and listened to our concerns. She answered our questions with patience and care.

Describe your experience with your nurse.

Shawnda was awesome. Organized, sensitive, encouraging. Even humorous at times when we invited her humor. Very respectful and hopeful for us.

How was your experience with Mary Abusief?

Excellent physician and excellent bedside manner.

What one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mary Abusief?

You found the right person. Be grateful to be getting excellent care.

Describe the protocols Mary Abusief used in your cycles and their degree of success.

I don't feel comfortable sharing this here.

10

Doctor

Mary Abusief

Communication

Trustworthiness

Compassion

Explained risks

Adaptability

Frequency seen during appointments

10

Clinic

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

San Jose

Nursing

Operations

Scheduling

Billing

Clinic Atmosphere

Educational Resources

– Read less

9

Age

34 - 37

Treated

2010 - 2013

Success with this Doc

Yes

Treatment

2 IUI, 7 IVF

Diagnosis

Unexplained

9

There was still a lot of responsibility I felt that i had to own as a patient, Felt like i had to monitor my own drug supplies

+ Read more

Age

34 - 37

Treated

2010 - 2013

Success with this Doc

Yes

Race

European

Income

$100K - $199K

Occupation

Business Executive

Order & Number of Docs Seen

1st of 2 Docs

Treatment

2 IUI, 7 IVF

Diagnosis

Unexplained

9

Describe your experience with Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

Small clinic with major hospital affiliation

During treatment, did you feel like you were treated like a number or a human?

Genuinely liked the people at the office, felt supported

Describe your experience with your nurse.

There was still a lot of responsibility I felt that i had to own as a patient

What specific things went wrong at this clinic?

Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy

How was your experience with Mary Abusief?

She's great. Felt like a personal, caring environment

What one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mary Abusief?

None

Describe the costs associated with your care under Mary Abusief.

As expected and covered by insurance

9

Doctor

Mary Abusief

Communication

Trustworthiness

Compassion

Explained risks

Adaptability

Frequency seen during appointments

9

Clinic

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

San Jose

Nursing

Operations

Scheduling

Billing

Clinic Atmosphere

Educational Resources

– Read less

6

Age

—

Treated

—

Success with this Doc

No

Treatment

2 IUI

Diagnosis

Unexplained

6

They [the staff at Palo Alto Medical Foundation] didn't seem to know what was going on, nor did they seem knowledgeable. They also forgot to send my prescriptions in, and these are time sensitive! They also refused to give me a prescription prior to my ultrasound, resulting in MUCH higher drug prices vs being able to use a mail-order pharmacy. Frustrating practices...Hard to schedule appointments, hard to communicate, and they didn' tknow what stage of the cycle I was in, nor did they seem knowledgeable.

+ Read more

Age

—

Treated

—

Success with this Doc

No

Race

East Asian

Income

$200K - $499K

Occupation

Operations

Order & Number of Docs Seen

1st of 3 Docs

Treatment

2 IUI

Diagnosis

Unexplained

6

Describe your experience with Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

Hard to schedule appointments, hard to communicate, and they didn' tknow what stage of the cycle I was in, nor did they seem knowledgeable.

During treatment, did you feel like you were treated like a number or a human?

She had a warm manner, friendly

Describe your experience with the nursing staff.

I didn't like how the scheduling worked - it was really disorganized.

What specific things went wrong at this clinic?

Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy

Failed to inform you of changes in protocol

Provided conflicting information

Failed to convey critical information

How was your experience with Sunny Jun?

I thought that she was a good doctor. Unfortunately, she is leaving for another clinic. IF I could follow her, I would! I had lower expectations going in this time, and it was not successful. She was a fast and good communicator via email.

What one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Sunny Jun?

Follow her!

Describe the protocols Sunny Jun used in your cycles and their degree of success.

Use of progesterone (but not enough for me), use of Clomid vs. letrozole

Describe the costs associated with your care under Sunny Jun.

~$1000/iui cycle
$350/ultrasound (2 required)

7

Doctor

Sunny Jun

Communication

Trustworthiness

Compassion

Explained risks

Adaptability

Frequency seen during appointments

6

Clinic

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

San Jose

Nursing

Operations

Scheduling

Billing

Clinic Atmosphere

Educational Resources

– Read less

7

Age

39 - 41

Treated

2014 - 2016

Success with this Doc

16 Eggs Frozen

Treatment

2 Egg Freezing

Diagnosis

—

7

[The nurses at PAMF were] compassionate. the main scheduling nurse was v. organized and clear. Also the PAMF clinic on fertility treatments SC injection was excellent...The clinic is fine. They were less hard to get an appointment for then some others in the area. Since they are now part of PAMF it was sometimes hard to figure who to talk to for what (billing etc).

+ Read more

Age

39 - 41

Treated

2014 - 2016

Success with this Doc

16 Eggs Frozen

Race

—

Income

$500K

Occupation

Business Executive

Order & Number of Docs Seen

1 Doc Seen

Treatment

2 Egg Freezing

Diagnosis

—

7

Describe your experience with Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

The clinic is fine. They were less hard to get an appointment for then some others in the area. Since they are now part of PAMF it was sometimes hard to figure who to talk to for what (billing etc).

During treatment, did you feel like you were treated like a number or a human?

While they were very respectful kind and gentle, ultimately they refused to help me conceive until my divorce was complete because their lawyers advised them that the law was murky. My divorce is now approaching 2 years in limbo and I'm am just waiting to use my frozen eggs. It would have been much easier to use sperm but now I'm over 40 and clock is ticking away- all because of lawyers and a stupid law that says it's husbands kid even if biology proves it's someone else's sperm. dumb. not a humane choice.

Describe your experience with the nursing staff.

Compassionate. the main scheduling nurse was v. organized and clear. Also the PAMF clinic on fertility treatments SC injection was excellent

How was your experience with Mary Abusief?

I felt they were professional and the actual surgical experience was amazing. Best procedure I ever had- I was alone, going through a divorce and a scary procedure with no one there for me. but I had a heated bed, kind words etc. It was great.

What one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mary Abusief?

The desk staff and phone systems are a huge labyrinth of confusion. Just persevere and you will get through.

Describe the protocols Mary Abusief used in your cycles and their degree of success.

I was self pay. The fees are pretty set and standard. The fee for the full egg retrieval process was about 10K plus I had insurance for the drugs part so I'm not sure how much that was.

7

Doctor

Mary Abusief

Communication

Trustworthiness

Compassion

Explained risks

Adaptability

Frequency seen during appointments

7

Clinic

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Palo Alto - University

Nursing

Operations

Scheduling

Billing

Clinic Atmosphere

Educational Resources

– Read less

5

Age

29

Treated

2016

Success with this Doc

No

Treatment

3 IUI, 3 IVF

Diagnosis

Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Male Factor

5

I bought a package through ARC that covered one retrieval and fresh transfer and one frozen transfer [at Palo Alto Medical Foundation]. The package was around $12-13,000 and did not cover ICSI or more than a set number of ultrasounds in a cycle. I paid extra for needing extra monitoring appointments as well as a whole lot of blood work, ultrasounds, and endometrial pipelle procedure for a chemical pregnancy...This clinic's strength is that the doctors meet daily for rounds so everyone is up to date on all of the patients who are in-cycle. The weakness is that there are so many doctors involved that you will likely be seen by multiple different doctors over the course of several days and may receive different information.

+ Read more

Age

29

Treated

2016

Success with this Doc

No

Race

European

Income

$200K - $499K

Occupation

Nurse or HC Services

Order & Number of Docs Seen

2nd of 4 Docs

Treatment

3 IUI, 3 IVF

Diagnosis

Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Male Factor

5

Describe your experience with Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

This clinic's strength is that the doctors meet daily for rounds so everyone is up to date on all of the patients who are in-cycle. The weakness is that there are so many doctors involved that you will likely be seen by multiple different doctors over the course of several days and may receive different information. One doctor I met with had incredibly awful bedside manner and I refused to be seen by him again, which meant that I had to drive to another clinic to see a different doctor. The clinic I primary visited was very private and peaceful, however some of the clinics that I had to drive to for my appointments were located inside of a larger medical facility. I had to sit in a waiting room that was shared with regular OBGYN patients who were pregnant- not great when you are going through fertility treatments.

During treatment, did you feel like you were treated like a number or a human?

She takes a lot of time with her clients and is very warm and personable. She is incredibly intelligent and up to date, but communicates her knowledge in a way that is not intimidating. She called me personally to check on me when I was diagnosed with a chemical pregnancy and took time to check in with me when I came in just for labs.

Describe your experience with your nurse.

Nancy was in touch with me constantly during my cycle and extremely helpful. For my second cycle I was assigned a different nurse. I don't remember much about her.

How was your experience with Mary Abusief?

We loved working with Dr. Abusief. The only downside is that since it's a large practice there were appointments where I saw one of her colleagues instead. She did not perform my egg retrievals or transfers because she was not "on-call" that day. She took over as the medical director and seemed stretched a little thin. I would have liked it more if there were less doctors involved and I was able to work with Dr. Abusief more exclusively.

What one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mary Abusief?

Be prepared for the fact that even if you like her a lot, you may not enjoy her colleagues as much and will often be in their direct care instead of hers. Although she was my primary RE, I was seen by many other doctors during my cycles with her.

Describe the protocols Mary Abusief used in your cycles and their degree of success.

It was my first IVF cycle and we used a standard long-lupron down regulation protocol. They retrieved 9 eggs, however only 6 were mature. No human growth hormone was used, just the lupron, gonal-f, and menopur. She stated that she started me on a higher dose of gonadotropins due to my low AMH, however I've always had an even higher dose with subsequent cycles with other doctors.

Describe the costs associated with your care under Mary Abusief.

I bought a package through ARC that covered one retrieval and fresh transfer and one frozen transfer. The package was around $12-13,000 and did not cover ICSI or more than a set number of ultrasounds in a cycle. I paid extra for needing extra monitoring appointments as well as a whole lot of blood work, ultrasounds, and endometrial pipelle procedure for a chemical pregnancy.

7

Doctor

Mary Abusief

Communication

Trustworthiness

Compassion

Explained risks

Adaptability

Frequency seen during appointments

5

Clinic

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Palo Alto - University

Nursing

Operations

Scheduling

Billing

Clinic Atmosphere

Educational Resources

– Read less

3

Age

33 - 34

Treated

2008 - 2009

Success with this Doc

No

Treatment

5 IUI, 5 IVF, Donor Eggs, Surrogacy

Diagnosis

Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Unexplained

3

It didn't feel as though PAMP had a specialized clinic at all - very baseline services, and nothing that was pushing the boundaries of current science...We didn't feel as though Dr. Swiersz was interested in understanding why we were failing to conceive. When a FSH test came back high (likely due to acupuncture-related chinese herbs), she showed incredible lack of compassion and told us we were very unlikely to ever have children. We promptly found a new doctor...Dr. Swiersz was the first RE we met with. She did baseline bloodwork and then used Clomid with a trigger shot for timed intercourse. She did do an ultrasound to check follicle development before the trigger shot.

+ Read more

Age

33 - 34

Treated

2008 - 2009

Success with this Doc

No

Race

European

Income

$200K - $499K

Occupation

—

Order & Number of Docs Seen

1st of 4 Docs

Treatment

5 IUI, 5 IVF, Donor Eggs, Surrogacy

Diagnosis

Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Unexplained

3

Describe your experience with Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

It didn't feel as though PAMP had a specialized clinic at all - very baseline services, and nothing that was pushing the boundaries of current science.

During treatment, did you feel like you were treated like a number or a human?

She was very by the book - I felt like she wanted to move us further down the ART process without understanding why we were failing to conceive.

How was your experience with Lillian Swiersz?

We didn't feel as though Dr. Swiersz was interested in understanding why we were failing to conceive. When a FSH test came back high (likely due to acupuncture-related chinese herbs), she showed incredible lack of compassion and told us we were very unlikely to ever have children. We promptly found a new doctor.

What one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Lillian Swiersz?

Don't choose Dr. Swiersz if you prioritize bedside manner.

Describe the protocols Lillian Swiersz used in your cycles and their degree of success.

Dr. Swiersz was the first RE we met with. She did baseline bloodwork and then used Clomid with a trigger shot for timed intercourse. She did do an ultrasound to check follicle development before the trigger shot.

Describe the costs associated with your care under Lillian Swiersz.

Insurance covered our diagnostic workup and treatment.

0

Doctor

Lillian Swiersz

Communication

Trustworthiness

Compassion

Explained risks

Adaptability

Frequency seen during appointments

3

Clinic

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Palo Alto - El Camino

Nursing

Operations

Scheduling

Billing

Clinic Atmosphere

Educational Resources

– Read less

1

Age

34 - 35

Treated

2010 - 2011

Success with this Doc

No

Treatment

6 IUI, IVF, Egg Freezing

Diagnosis

Diminished Ovarian Reserve

1

They were disorganized, always late. Getting the correct prescription seems like a crap shoot.

+ Read more

Age

34 - 35

Treated

2010 - 2011

Success with this Doc

No

Race

European

Income

$200K - $499K

Occupation

—

Order & Number of Docs Seen

1st of 2 Docs

Treatment

6 IUI, IVF, Egg Freezing

Diagnosis

Diminished Ovarian Reserve

1

During treatment, did you feel like you were treated like a number or a human?

She wasn't there most of the time, seemed distracted when she was there. Not aggressive enough

Describe your experience with your nurse.

She was always on the phone, seemed over worked.

What specific things went wrong at this clinic?

Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy

Failed to inform you of changes in protocol

Provided conflicting information

How was your experience with Lillian Swiersz?

She was nice but seemed distracted and naive

What one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Lillian Swiersz?

be an advocate for yourself

2

Doctor

Lillian Swiersz

Communication

Trustworthiness

Compassion

Explained risks

Adaptability

Frequency seen during appointments

1

Clinic

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Palo Alto - El Camino

Nursing

Operations

Scheduling

Billing

Educational Resources

– Read less

10

Age

29 - 30

Treated

2015 - 2016

Success with this Doc

Yes

Treatment

6 IUI, 1 IVF

Diagnosis

Recurrent Pregnancy Loss, Anovulation, PCOS

10

They [Palo Alto Medical Foundation] were great. They always were able to find me an appointment, whether it was with my dr or not. They were flexible in scheduling me as early as possible because of my work. The secretaries were very responsive. They are a very busy practice, so it was sometimes hard to get squeezed in, but they did it!...She [the nurse] was amazing. She called me back after ever question, guided me through each of the transfers, and called me the minute my beta was availible.

+ Read more

Age

29 - 30

Treated

2015 - 2016

Success with this Doc

Yes

Race

European

Income

$50K - $99K

Occupation

Teacher

Order & Number of Docs Seen

2nd of 2 Docs

Treatment

6 IUI, 1 IVF

Diagnosis

Recurrent Pregnancy Loss, Anovulation, PCOS

10

Describe your experience with Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

They were great. They always were able to find me an appointment, whether it was with my dr or not. They were flexible in scheduling me as early as possible because of my work. The secretaries were very responsive. They are a very busy practice, so it was sometimes hard to get squeezed in, but they did it!

During treatment, did you feel like you were treated like a number or a human?

He took great interest in our case. When we had several miscarriages, he really took the time to find out why, and recommend a course of treatment that might fix the issue and it did. He was just as excited as me when the heartbeat appeared on my last ultrasound.

Describe your experience with your nurse.

She was amazing. She called me back after ever question, guided me through each of the transfers, and called me the minute my beta was availible.

How was your experience with Anthony Dobson?

He is kind and caring. He takes the time to talk about treatment, next steps, and what each step will entail. My first visit, he spent 2 hours talking through IVF and what I could expect. He took the time to answer my messages at 10:30 at night and was always willing to talk when I had questions.

What one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Anthony Dobson?

Get on his list! He cares deeply about each of his patients. I would also recommend asking as many questions as you feel you need to understand the process. He’s willing to answer them

Describe the protocols Anthony Dobson used in your cycles and their degree of success.

For my retrieval, they used ganarelix, follistom, and menopure. I was on low dosages of each because of my PCOS and I could be easily over stimulated. I stimmed for two and a half weeks. I had 44 eggs, and did an ICSI split. 19 fertilized with ICSI and 1 the traditional way. I ended up with 9 day 5 blasts. We transfered one fresh on day 3. This did not result in a pregnancy. My first FET we did oral estrace 3 Times a day and then vaginal estrace after 10 days to increase lining. Also used Lupron for two weeks. PIO shots began 5 days before transfer. This resulted in a blighted ovum at 7 weeks. Since this protocol was successful in getting me pregnant, we used the same protocol with the addition to estrogen patches for lining support. This resulted in a miscarriage at 5 weeks. My final FET was similar with the addition of baby aspirin and 2 estrogen patches. When beta was confirmed, he started me on lovonox for 12 weeks. This resulted in my 5 month old daughter

Describe the costs associated with your care under Anthony Dobson.

Initial cost for retrieval, fresh transfer, and one FET was $14565. Cost of meds was $1500. For each FET after that, it was approx 4,500 and meds were $400-500.